CGIAR Research Programs
(Picture on Flickr by Zoriah.) A new report focusing on eastern and western Africa and the South Asian Indo-Gangetic Plains, which span parts of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, on the ability of global climate models to predict regional climate events such as monsoon rains and temperatures—and found mixed results. ‘The models have a reasonable capability in … Continue reading
Extending a project into a new phase is always a perilous exercise. The East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project is (re-) learning this lesson. In the stakeholder consultation workshop that took place from 27 to 29 February, the project team sought feedback from participants regarding initial ideas for the extension of the program (a so-called … Continue reading
Mali women collect firewood for cooking on the dry bed of the Niger River (photo on Flickr by United Nations). The Worldwatch Institute’s ‘Nourishing the Planet’ project this week highlights a report illustrating food-insecure regions where climate change is likely to exacerbate hunger and malnutrition. The report was published in 2011 by the International Livestock … Continue reading
From 27 to 29 February, the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project is holding a stakeholder/investor consultation meeting in Ethiopia. The specific objectives of this workshop are: To share the vision of EADD2 with key dairy stakeholders in Ethiopia; to obtain views of key dairy sector stakeholders on the current state and development opportunities for … Continue reading
Demand for milk and meat continues to rise in developing countries (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). The New Agriculturist recently reported on a Safe Food, Fair Food Project led by scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ‘Rising demand for livestock products is providing opportunities to improve the livelihoods of smallscale livestock farmers across Africa. … Continue reading
Ox Cart Crossing a Flooded Plain, painting by Ivan Alvazovsky, 1897 (source: Wikipaintings). On 21 Feb 2012, from 14:30–15:30 (Central European Time), a video seminar will explore how current climate models for agricultural impacts perform in Africa and South Asia. The research in this study was coordinated by Phil Thornton, an agricultural systems analyst with … Continue reading
Around 60 experts are meeting at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa on 30th and 31st January to plan an exciting new research project that aims to transform agricultural systems in the Highland of Ethiopia. As in many part of Africa, farming systems in the Ethiopian Highlands are a mix of crop … Continue reading
In Ethiopia, sheep and goats have traditionally served as a means of ready cash and a reserve against economic and agricultural production hardship. However, the proximity of Ethiopia to large Middle Eastern markets demanding export quality sheep and goat carcasses and an increase in the domestic demand for small ruminant meat is leading to a … Continue reading
A human settlement in northern Kenya, from the air (photo on Flickr by Neil Palmer [CIAT]). A fact-filled, thought-provoking and myth-busting book, which many researchers will have reason to hope will become widely influential, challenges the African ‘drylands myths’ that, despite decades of research that should have overturned them by now, remain entrenched in many … Continue reading
As part of the US government’s Feed the Future initiative to address global hunger and food security issues in sub-Saharan Africa, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting three multi-stakeholder agricultural research projects to sustainably intensify key African farming systems. Based in three priority agro-ecological zones, the three projects are focused on sites … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 